Greetings to everyone on this Monday before Christmas. A few months ago, I recall seeing posts on Social Media giving us the countdown until December 25th. At the time it seemed so far away, but now we’re into the final few weeks of December, and as of today, just seven days until Christmas.
With the passing of my Father just over a week ago, this has definitely been the most challenging week of my life. I thought the week after my son got injured back in June was going to be the toughest of 2023, but sadly as bad as it was, this past week has been much worse. My Dad left behind a great legacy with regards to his family, the aviation world, and of course in motocross. He was fortunate enough to have five wonderful Grandkids who are all talented and unique in their talents and personalities. In aviation, he not only spent 35 years flying all over the globe with Air Canada, but he also remained in the industry post-retirement in 2003, teaching and giving back to the industry that provided so much to him. In motocross, he loved the sport and he was my biggest fan since the first day I threw a leg over a dirt bike. When it came time to graduate from just riding around our farm to travelling to races, we did that as a family for many years, and he ingrained in me the skills needed to turn racing from a hobby into a career path. In recent years, during some of our quiet chats he told me on multiple occasions that he was proud of me and that I was a much better father than he was. I would always reply with a big “thank-you” and added that it was only because of the things he taught me. Hopefully my son is a better father than I am and so on and so on. Anyway, it’s been a tough few days and I want to say thank you to everyone from the moto community who reached out with their kind words during the past week. My family and I appreciate the love and support very much and it certainly helped us get through the past week. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
As far as moto news in Canada goes, last week it came to light that the City of Calgary was proposing a project that would put the popular Wild Rose Cycle Park in jeopardy. The response by everyone in the moto and off-road community was amazing and hopefully the city realizes that Wild Rose Cycle Park isn’t just your average riding area. It is truly an iconic site and should be kept around for years to come. We will keep you posted as we get information. In race team news, the signing of Tyler Medaglia to the GDR Honda Team was well received and everyone seems excited. Tyler is very motivated to challenge for the 250 class Triple Crown Series Championship in 2024, so that is going to be fun to watch. After seeing what his fellow 30-something year-old Kaven Benoit did this past summer against the kids, Tyler should be very excited. Ryan Lockhart told us on Friday in his Matrix Concepts Canada 3 Q’s feature, that part of the plan for 2024 is to have Tyler focus a little more on motocross during the off-season and through the summer, and then get more serious about off-road once the Triple Crown Series has completed. That sounds like a great plan to me, and I cannot wait to see it unfold.
In other news, we’re still waiting on the MX101 Yamaha Team to announce who is going to ride their YZ450 in 2024? With Shawn Maffenbeier officially retired the Blu Cru needs a rider who can at the very least get the results that Maff did this past summer. This isn’t easy to do as Maff was a consistent podium guy in the 450 class and that speed is hard to replace. Especially with the limited budgets that our Canadian teams work with each year. I spoke to Team Owner and all around nice guy Kevin Tyler this morning, and he told me that an announcement is coming very soon. I threw some possible names at him, and he said they all sounded great, and then he wished me a Merry Christmas, and said I’d be the first to know what pen is put to paper. He also told me that Austin Jones is heading down south soon to race the entire Florida Winter-Am Series, so that is exciting. Finally, in some Triple Crown Series news. The official schedule hasn’t been released yet as they’re just waiting on some dates and venues for the fall SX/AS portion of the series. However, I am hearing that the 2024 series will kick off in early June in Calgary, and then travel to Lethbridge, Manitoba, and then head East to its normal venues. If this is indeed the case, then I’m excited as I think that is strong 2024 MX schedule.
Well, that is it for me this week as I have some last minute Christmas shopping to do. We are not only just a week away from Christmas, but we’re two weeks away from a new year, and just under three weeks away from Anaheim 1 and the opening round of the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross Series. For many race fans, this is the most anticipated day of the year, and by the looks of it, the 2024 SX Series is shaping up to be one of the best. The 450SX class is absolutely stacked, and we could see a different winner each weekend through the opening five or six rounds. Also, Cole Thompson and Julien Benek are racing in the 250SX West class so we’re going to have a few Canadian’s to cheer for. Like everyone, I cannot wait for the gate drop on January 6th! Have a great week and Merry Christmas to everyone!